 Although the Egyptians believed their gods to be present in the world around them , contact between the human and divine realms was mostly limited to specific circumstances . In literature , gods may appear to humans in a physical form , but in real life the Egyptians were limited to more indirect means of communication .The ba of a god was said to periodically leave the divine realm to dwell in the images of that god . By inhabiting these images , the gods left their concealed state and took on a physical form . To the Egyptians , a place or object that was ḏsr —  sacred  — was isolated and ritually pure , and thus fit for a god to inhabit . Temple statues and reliefs , as well as particular sacred animals , like the Apis bull , served as divine intermediaries in this way . Dreams and trances provided a very different venue for interaction . In these states , it was believed , people could come close to the gods and sometimes receive messages from them . Finally , according to Egyptian afterlife beliefs , human souls pass into the divine realm after death . The Egyptians therefore believed that in death they would exist on the same level as the gods and fully understand their mysterious nature . Temples , where the state rituals were carried out , were filled with images of the gods . The most important temple image was the cult statue in the inner sanctuary . These statues were usually less than life @-@ size , and made of the same precious materials that were said to form the gods ' bodies . Many temples had several sanctuaries , each with a cult statue representing one of the gods in a group such as a family triad . The city 's primary god was envisioned as its lord , employing many of the residents as servants in the divine household that the temple represented . The gods residing in the temples of Egypt collectively represented the entire pantheon . But many deities — including some important gods as well as those that were minor or hostile — were never given temples of their own , although some were represented in the temples of other gods . To insulate the sacred power in the sanctuary from the impurities of the outside world , the Egyptians enclosed temple sanctuaries and greatly restricted access to them . People other than kings and high priests were thus denied contact with cult statues . The only exception was during festival processions , when the statue was carried out of the temple but still enclosed in a portable shrine . People did have less direct means of interaction . The more public parts of temples often incorporated small places for prayer , from doorways to freestanding chapels near the back of the temple building . Communities also built and managed small chapels for their own use , and some families had shrines inside their homes . Despite the gulf that separated humanity from the divine , the Egyptians were surrounded by opportunities to approach their gods . fill in the blank  :   __________________ the Egyptians believed their gods to be present in the world around them , contact between the human and divine realms was mostly limited to specific circumstances . 